April 20, 21, 27 and 28, 2024
Applications for The Himalayan Rishi Scholarship are open till March 17th, 2024
Discover the art of translating between any Language and English (or vice versa). Master the technique of retelling great stories in our Translation Masterclass.
Last year, Daisy Rockwell and Geetanjali Shree created history by winning the International Booker Prize for Tomb of Sand (originally published in Hindi as Ret Samadhi).
The Booker win has brought global attention to Geetanjali Shree’s works. At Himalayan Writing Retreat, we respect translation, and think it is rather under-rated. It is an art that conveys meaning while changing little, yet often enhancing the original.
We are proud to host a Translation Masterclass with award-winning translator Arunava Sinha at our retreat.
The Translation Masterclass is meant to introduce the elements of literary translations to potential practitioners. Over three days we will learn how to read a text for translating it, how to get started and what to focus on. The Masterclass is not language specific – anyone interested in translating to or from English is welcome.
We’ll learn what problems to expect and how to solve them. We’ll learn how to revise. The focus will be on doing: translating, editing, reviewing, and learning.
Dates: 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th April, 2024.
Timings: 10am to 1pm on each day.
Format: Online.
We only accept a total of twelve applicants in this event on a first-come first-served basis. To apply for this course, please pick the appropriate blue button and fill out the application.
About the Instructor
Arunava Sinha
Arunava Sinha translates classic, modern, and contemporary Bengali fiction and nonfiction into English. Seventy-one of his translations have been published so far. Twice the winner of the Crossword translation award, for Sankar’s Chowringhee (2007) and Anita Agnihotri’s Seventeen (2011), respectively, and the winner of the Muse India translation award (2013) for Buddhadeva Bose’s When The Time Is Right. He has also been shortlisted for The Independent Foreign Fiction prize (2009) for his translation of Chowringhee and for the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize for his translation of Md Zafar Iqbal’s Rasha, and longlisted for the Best Translated Book award, USA, 2018 for his translation of Bhaskar Chakravarti’s Things That Happen and Other Poems.
In 2021, his translation of Taslima Nasrin’s Shameless was shortlisted for the National Translation Award in the USA. Besides India, his translations have been published in the UK and the US in English, and in several European and Asian countries through further translation. He is an associate professor of practice in the Creative Writing department at Ashoka University, and Co-Director, of the Ashoka Centre of Translation.
Detailed Program – Translation Masterclass
Day 1
First half
- Elements of a translated text: how is it different from a text in the original language
- Reading for translation
- First steps
Second half
- How to translate dialogue
- How to translate voice
- How to translate ‘difficult’ words
Day 2
First half
- Translating a short text (100-200 words)
- Problem-identification and arriving at solutions
- Revising and editing
Second half
Translating a full text (500-1000 words)
Day 3
Reading and extensive workshopping of each of the translated texts, with feedback and suggestions
AMA (Ask Me Anything) : A translator’s life and what it involves, including:
How to pick a text
– Copyright and legal issues
– Getting published
– Publishing agreements